Emergency crews responded to a basement fire in a multi-unit building on Wellington Road Tuesday morning. The incident forced a temporary shutdown of the road in both directions and lead to the evacuation of residents. No injuries were reported. London fire was called to the scene near Alexandra Street shortly before 10 a.m. following reports of a fire. Crews arrived to find smoke emanating from a basement unit, where the blaze had originated in the kitchen. While the basement unit was unoccupied at the time of the fire, residents in a first-floor apartment were safely evacuated. Fire officials confirmed that working smoke detectors played a crucial role in alerting occupants, enabling everyone to exit the building without harm. The fire caused extensive damage to the kitchen area of the basement unit. No official damage estimate has been released by authorities. Wellington Road was closed between Whetter Avenue and Raywood Avenue and re-opened around 11:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
